Pro Bowling (Mobile)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 4.0 stars Excellent
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 8.2 (4.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Avery Score
• Reviewed on: 09/22/2004
• Originally published on GameSpot: Pro Bowling (Mobile) Review

Suffice it to say, mobile bowling simulations have been incredibly successful in the past. Bowling, in any form, is a simple, skill-based affair that is very easy to grasp. As such, it has an extremely wide appeal, and it certainly fits mobile gaming's casual-play requirement. Knowing this, Mforma has structured Pro Bowling's core gameplay around three self-explanatory meters and two shot alignment choices, thereby ensuring that anyone with a thumb can enjoy the title. Instead of needlessly complicating a tried-and-true formula, Mforma has concentrated on delivering a very slick product.

You'll first notice that the game looks and sounds fantastic. The drumroll-like patter of your smooth, prerendered ball trundling along on waxed wood is unmistakable to anyone who's ever rented a pair of ill-fitting, tobacco-scented shoes. The same can be said of the cacophonous collision of pins that follows--Pro Bowling's sound is accurate enough to let you hear a strike, even if your eyes are averted out of anxiety or distraction.

After the pins fall, they'll spin around--realistically, based on where they were hit--knocking down neighboring pins in the process. Spin works in predictable ways, and the ball will hook accordingly. You'll never feel cheated by poor physics or collision detection. In fact, Pro Bowling is unlikely to frustrate gamers at all. It's a cinch, even in the highest competition level of its ladder-style tournament mode. Fortunately, Pro Bowling is so fun to play, you won't mind the low difficulty.

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